Legislation that seeks to grant independent practice authority to certified registered nurse practitioners (CRNPs) passed the Pa. Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee on March 27, 2019, by a vote of 12-2. It now awaits consideration by the full Senate.

The Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED) strongly opposes SB 25. We believe in the importance of team-based care within a physician-led team, and will continue to oppose bills that would allow non-physician health care professionals in the state to practice independently.

View a copy of the letter PAMED sent to Committee members expressing our vehement opposition to SB 25 here.

Thank You to the Committee Members Who Voted ‘No” to SB 25!

Sen. Mike Regan and Sen. John Gordner are the two committee members who voted ‘no’ to SB 25. If you are one of their constituents, we encourage you to reach out to them and thank them for supporting team-based care.

SB 25 would allow CRNPs to practice independently in Pennsylvania without the benefit of having a physician involved in care and immediately available should a complex problem present itself. This would remove physicians from the health care team.

While CRNPs play a critical role in the delivery of health care, they are by no means interchangeable with physicians. Legislating medical degrees to nurses will neither improve patient care nor expand access to care in Pennsylvania.

CRNPs continue to contact their legislators in large numbers to advocate for their independent practice. Legislators also need to hear the physician voice about why this is bad for patient care in Pennsylvania. You can look up your legislator and find contact information here.

More on CNRP Legislation and PAMED’s Scope of Practice Advocacy

SB 25 was introduced by Sen.Camera Bartolotta in February 2019. Sen. Bartolotta also introduced a CRNP independent practice bill during the previous legislative session. During the last session, PAMED successfully advocated against the bill, which passed the Senate but was not considered by the House.

This session, Rep. Jesse Topper also plans to introduce similar CRNP independent practice legislation in the Pa. House. In a letter sent to House members on Feb. 11, 2019, PAMED expressed our opposition to Rep. Topper’s proposal. Read the letter.